Harvey L. Bryant, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, announced today that Robert Vance Gallup, 60 years old, who previously resided in Lexington, Virginia, pled guilty and was sentenced today by Circuit Court Judge Les L. Lilley for Aggravated Sexual Battery (3 counts), Indecent Liberties (2 counts), and Custodial Indecent Liberties.In accordance with a plea agreement, Judge Lilley sentenced Gallup to 85 years in prison, all suspended except 16 years and 10 months to serve.

Had this matter gone to trial, the Commonwealth’s evidence would have proved that between August 15, 1976 and September 30, 1984, Robert Vance Gallup sexually abused a young child on multiple occasions in the City of Virginia Beach. During a tape-recorded conversation between Gallup and the victim in 2004, the victim confronted Gallup about the past abuse, and asked Gallup if he was the last victim. Gallup replied that the victim was “the last one” after stating, “Here I am, an adult that wants to have sex with children.”The matter was not reported to Virginia Beach police until 2012.

Gallup’s sentence for these charges is to run concurrently with a 5-year prison sentence in Suffolk for similar charges involving the same victim.Gallup has a previous conviction in Suffolk from 1996 for public nudity.